


Every Breath You Take

by KittyCatCaitlin



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Car Accidents, Character Death, Eventual parkner, Hospitals, Hurt Peter Parker, Irondad, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Tony Stark, no beta we die like men, spiderson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-03-06 01:21:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18840730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyCatCaitlin/pseuds/KittyCatCaitlin
Summary: “Peter, is everything ok?” Tony asked, concern creeping into his voice“Mr. Stark?” Peter croaked into the phone “Mr. Stark I don’t know what’s happening and I’m scared and there was an accident and I don’t think Aunt May is breathing-“Peter and May have an accident, and Tony must protect the boy for all he’s worth.





	1. Chapter 1

It was Wednesday afternoon when Tony got the phone call, his phone vibrating on the workbench. He looked at the caller ID as he wiped his hands on a rag, it read Peter Parker. “Hey, kid,” he answered “What’s going on?” His question was met with the sound of ragged breathing. “Peter, is everything ok?” Tony asked, concern creeping into his voice

“Mr. Stark?” Peter croaked into the phone “Mr. Stark I don’t know what’s happening and I’m scared and there was an accident and I don’t think Aunt May is breathing-“

“Whoa, slow down and breathe, Peter.” A choked sob was heard from the other side of the phone

“I’m scared Mr. Stark. Everything hurts.” Peter whimpered

“I know you’re scared, Peter, but it’s gonna be ok. I’m gonna make sure everything is ok, but to do that I’m gonna have to hang up, is that ok?” Tony asked soothingly

“No please Mr. Stark don’t go please!” Tony ran a hand through his hair

“Peter, I have to if I’m gonna help. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.” Tony heard Peter sniff and a small “Ok.” He hung up.

“FRIDAY I need you to find out where Peter is and send an ambulance. Tell them that there’s a 15 year old and a woman, possibly dead. Make them hurry. Send me his location too.”

“Sir, they'll likely take him to Midtown.” The AI mentioned 

“Midtown is fine just get him to a hospital.” Tony wasted no time in climbing into his suit, not even bothering to change his grimy Black Sabbath T-shirt.

 

It was less than a minute before Tony was at Peter’s side, using the location tracker in his phone. Tony observed the situation for a moment, taking it all in. They had crashed into a bridge post, the kind the subway ran on top of, clearly having swerved to avoid something. The whole front of the car was crumpled, and Tony noticed the steering wheel was crushing May’s chest. Peter looked like he was unconscious as Tony had FRIDAY scan for his injuries. Whiplash, multiple fractures including his ribs, punctured lung, probably a concussion, his right foot had been completely crushed and would likely need surgery. Just as Tony approached the car, Peter cracked an eye open. “M-Mister-Mister Stark?” The boy croaked. 

“I’m here, kid. Ambulance will be here soon, I promise. They’ll help you feel better.” 

 

The ambulance arrived in just over 2 minutes, and they loaded Peter in as soon as they were able to release him from the car. May took a while longer to remove. “Sir, do you know the child?” One of the paramedics asked Tony, snapping him out of his reverie.  

“Yeah, yeah I do.” Tony ran his hand through his hair 

“Do you know if he has any relatives that can meet him at the hospital? His mom... well it ain’t looking good.” 

“Aunt,” Tony mumbled, correcting the paramedic “I’ll come. He has nobody else.” After instructing FRIDAY to fly his suit back, Tony climbed into the back of the ambulance with Peter.

 

Three hours was all Tony managed to sit in the waiting room before he got restless. Peter was in surgery and nobody had come out to update him, so he pulled out his phone. “Tony, where are you?” Was Pepper’s first question when she picked up the phone.

“I’m at the hospital...” he said wearily

“Jesus, Tony! What happened?! Are you ok?!” 

“Pepper, I’m fine. It’s the kid. He was in a car accident and he’s in surgery, has been for the last three hours.” Tony rubbed his face with his hand “I don’t think May’s gonna make it.”

“May...?” Pepper questioned

“Peter’s aunt. Typical superhero origin story, Peter’s an orphan. She’s his only family.”

“Oh, Tony...” she sympathised

“What am I gonna do, Pep?”


	2. Chapter 2

 

Another two hours passed before Peter came out of surgery, and a doctor came to speak to Tony “Family of Peter Parker?” The doctor called. Tony stood up. “Mr Parker-“

“Stark.” Tony corrected. The doctor gave a tight lipped smile

“Mr Stark, I’m afraid Peter’s injuries are extensive. We were able to repair his foot with rods and plates, as well as secure his broken ribs. The internal bleeding was harder to control. We were unable to close, his body couldn’t take any more surgery, so he’s been put in the ICU. I warn you, Mr Stark, Peter is not in a good position, and it’s not all that nice to look at. You’re welcome to go and see him, but I understand if you don’t want to.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Tony sighed, unsure of what to do. “Do you happen to know what’s going on with May Parker?”

“The woman he came in with?” The doctor asked. Tony nodded. “I’m so sorry, Mr Stark, I had assumed you had been told. She was dead on arrival. There was nothing we could do.” Tony clamped his lips shut, fighting back tears as he thought of Peter. 

“Thank you.” He whispered after a moment. The doctor nodded and walked away. 

 

After a moment Tony picked up his phone again, dialling a number he had found through Peter’s phone.

“Hello?” A voice answered

“Hi, am I speaking to Ned Leeds?” Tony asked

“Yeah, hi. Who is this?” Ned asked, the number having been blocked when Tony called 

“Shit, how do I explain this? Um.... it’s Tony Stark?” Tony said uncertainly 

“Holy crap, Tony Stark is actually calling me?!”

“Yeah, kid, look, save your fangirling for later, Peter needs you. Shit, kid... I need you...” Tony realised this as he said it. He didn’t want to see Peter, the nicest kid he’d ever met, the only kid he’d ever had some kind of a connection with, alone when he knew Peter had no family left.

“But Mr Stark.... why would you need me?” Ned asked, wondering aloud

“Just... meet me at Midtown hospital. I can send a car if you need me to. I’ll explain everything when you get here.”

“Ok Mr. Stark, I’ll take the subway.”

“Please just... hurry...” Tony practically begged.

 

Ned arrived within 20 minutes of ending the phone call, only to find Tony pacing. “Mr Stark?” He asked nervously. Tony stopped pacing and stared for a minute, before his brain sped up.

“You must be Ned?” Ned nodded, looking anxious “Right. Come on, you’re gonna want to sit down.” The unlikely pair sat opposite each other on the hard chairs of the waiting area. Tony leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his chin on his fists. He dropped his forearms before taking a breath. “Ned, first of all, I feel like we’re gonna get to know each other real well, so call me Tony. None of this Mr Stark crap I get with Pete, just Tony. I’m a regular guy who just happens to be a billionaire genius. Got it?” The boy nodded, staring at the man in front of him like a rabbit in headlights. “Next, Peter’s not in good shape. He needs you, and I need you. Peter and May were in a car accident, and Peter’s really really hurt. May didn’t make it, so he needs a new family. We need to be that family, and I’m gonna be honest, kid, I don’t wanna go see him alone. The doctor said they couldn’t lose him, so it probably looks way worse than it is, but studies show that coma patients know their families are there, and that they can still hear. So... you wanna go see him?” It took Ned a moment to process everything.

“Mr Stark, I mean Tony, do you want me to bring MJ after school tomorrow?”

“MJ?” Tony was confused, he had no knowledge of this person

“Michelle. She’s our friend and she sits with us at lunch. You said Peter needs family.” Tony nodded slowly

“Yeah... if she wants to come that would be great.” Ned nodded and took a deep breath.

“So,” he said “we’re going to see Peter?”


	3. Chapter 3

Tony saw Peter through the glass door and froze. He could barely face Pepper with a cold, and what was in front of him was so much worse. This kid, this 15 year old boy that Tony had taken under his wing, had tubes and wires coming from every which way. There was a machine breathing for him, his abdomen was wrapped in surgical plastic to protect his organs from the open air, there were machines monitoring his heart rate, his blood pressure, his oxygen intake. Tony choked back a sob.

“Hey, Mr Stark, are you ok?” Ned asked, breaking Tony from his thoughts.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, kid.” He lied glibly

“You wanna go in then?” Tony nodded, and the two entered Peter’s room.

 

Tony woke up with a start to the sound of his phone ringing. He realised he had fallen asleep in the chair sat next to Peter, still holding his hand. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone to answer it

“Hi, Pepper,” he greeted wearily “what’s up?”

“How are you doing?” Pepper asked, her voice soft and concerned 

“I’m here... I’m worried... I... don’t know.” Was Tony’s answer

“You’re still there? I thought visiting hours were over?”

“Not a lot of people say no to Tony Stark.” Pepper scoffed on the other end of the line

“How is Peter?” She asked gently

“He’s not good, Peps. They couldn’t even finish his surgery today.” Tony stroked his thumb over Peter’s hand, careful to avoid the cannula stuck in the back of it

“You want me to come by and sit with you?” 

“Nah,” Tony looked down at Peter “It’ll only worry you. Get some sleep.” He hung up the phone after saying goodbye and goodnight. He doubted he would be going home that night.

 

Days became weeks as Tony held vigil by Peter’s side. It was only late one night that he realised how long he had been there. Tony woke up, curled up on the chair in Peter’s room, to the news channel quietly on the TV in the corner. “...billionaire Tony Stark has been what is believed to in hiding for a little over a month. CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, has not commented on Mr Stark’s whereabouts, but it is believed he is out of the country.” Tony smirked a little. The press thought he was out of the country, but he was right there in New York City. It was a minute later that he realised what the newsreader had said. Over a month. Peter had been comatose for over a month. He reached out and took Peter’s hand before falling asleep again.

 

The next morning Tony groggily awoke to a squeezing sensation on his hand. “Ok, Ned, I’m awake...” he mumbled. He had become friendly with Peter’s oldest friend, discussing everything from complex theoretical science to pop culture while they sat. There was another squeeze. “Ned, I’m awake. Stop.” When Ned didn’t reply Tony opened one eye. There was no one in the room but him. He opened the other eye, slowly looking around the room for any sign of another person, but the only two were him and Peter. Tony was confused. He had definitely felt someone squeeze his hand. It was just as he was trying to work it out that he heard it, a voice, low and gravelly as if it hadn’t been used in a long time. A voice that said two words. Two words that shook Tony to his core.

 

“Mr Stark?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait on this one, I can’t resist a cliffhanger and work has been suuuuuuper busy recently. I’m also sorry it’s so short but it felt like the natural end to the chapter, there will be more soon though.

Tony was sure he was dreaming, and pinched his leg hard just to be sure he was, in fact, awake. Once that was verified, he carefully reached across to push the call button on the wall next to Peter’s bed. 

“Hey kid,” he said gently, with a small smile. Peter coughed and spluttered for a moment

“Mr Stark, what happened? Where are we?”

“We’re at Midtown Hospital, Peter. There was an accident, don’t you remember?” Just as Peter started to speak a nurse, who Tony knew to be called Allison, walked in.

“Mr Parker!” She said brightly “Welcome back to the land of the living!” Peter looked confoundedly at Tony as Nurse Allison busied herself checking his vital signs along with various other things

“Peter, I just need to step outside for a sec, then I’m gonna explain everything, I promise.” Peter nodded, still looking wide-eyed at Tony like a small child. The minute Tony was in the corridor he phoned Ned.

 

Ned was standing next to his locker when his phone rang in his pocket. He stared bleary-eyed at the screen for a minute before answering “Hey Tony, what’s going on?”

“Get Michelle, get to the hospital now. I’ll make your excuses with the school.” Tony said on the other end of the line

“Tony-“ The phone line cut off. It was the first time Tony had phoned him rather than just texting him, it must be important, right? He quickly made his way to an empty classroom, where Michelle was absent-mindedly doodling as she stared out a window. The teacher was half asleep at the desk. “MJ!” He called across the room, she jumped, looking over at him as her pencil slid across the page. “MJ, Mr. Stark called, said we need to get to the hospital now.” Michelle carries on staring at him

“Is Peter awake?” She asked 

“I dunno,” Ned answered “But Mr. Stark would only call if it was important.”

 

The pair made it to the hospital in record time, practically running to the ICU. They stopped when they heard Tony talking, and grinned at each other. Peter must be awake. Ned took a deep breath. “You ready, MJ?” She took his proffered hand and nodded.

 

“Lotta things happened while you were out, kid. Knicks won the season, that was nice. Political decisions were made, a few celebrity scandals, there’s even a rumour that I’ve gone missing.” Tony chuckled. Peter frowned uncertainly at Tony, not entirely sure if he was joking or not. There was a tentative knock at the door. “Come in!” Tony called, then turned back to Peter “I thought you might want to see these guys, I know they really want to see you.” There was a glimmer in Tony’s eye as Ned and MJ shuffled into the room, both with huge smiles on their faces. Peter looked blankly between them and Tony.

“Hey, Peter. How you doing?” Ned asked shyly, I sure if what to say to his best friend. Peter looked confused

“I’m sorry,” He looked from Tony to Ned “do I know you?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG
> 
> Life kinda got in the way over the summer but I’m back!!

“Peter, it’s Ned. We’ve been friends since kindergarten...” Ned looked hurt and dejected

“I’m sorry, I don’t....” Peter trailed off before looking back to Tony. “Mr Stark?” Tony wasn’t sure what to think

“That’s your best friend, Kiddo. I don’t know what else to tell you...” Tony didn’t know what to do. Here was his kid who couldn’t remember his best friend. He was fighting back tears so as not to appear weak in front of Peter. A quick glance at Ned told him everything he needed to know. The poor boy was heartbroken. His own best friend didn’t remember him and it hurt. Ned took a deep breath “I’m... I’m gonna go. I think it’s best.” He said. MJ looked up at Ned as he stood. She wasn’t sure who needed her more, Ned or Tony, but one glance at Tony told her where she needed to be. “Come on, Ned.” MJ murmured, taking her friend by the shoulders and steering him out of the door. Tony watched them leave, until his reverie was broken “Mr. Stark, where’s Aunt May? Is she working? Will she be here later?” Tony looked back at Peter and smiled. He couldn't face telling the kid the truth, not with those big puppy eyes staring right at him.

“She’s gone to visit her cousin, in Oregon.” 

“MAY IS IN OREGANO?? HOW DID SHE GET IN A SEASONING???” Peter was wide eyed and panicky. Tony put a hand on his shoulder

“Calm down Pete. Oregon is a state. I said Oregon.” He said calmly

“Oh.” Peter slumped back against the pillow. “May has cousins in Oregon?”

“Yeah,” Tony was lying through his teeth but Peter had lost everyone, there was no way the man could tell him that the last member of his family was dead. “And May has asked me to take care of you until she gets back.” Peter nodded at that, it’s not as if he had anyone else to look after him. He looked sleepily at Tony, who was idly stroking the back of Peter’s hand with his thumb, careful to avoid the cannula. Peter wasn’t awake for long, falling asleep while Tony stroked his skin. As soon as Peter was breathing deeply and steadily, Tony went to hunt down the doctor.

 

He arrived at the nurses station, where the doctor who was in charge of Peter’s case was sat doing paperwork. He rapped smartly on the countertop, causing the doctor to look up at him. “Oh, Mr Stark!” She exclaimed, her accent indicating she had lived and worked in England for at least some portion of her life “How can I help you?”

“I’d like to know when I can take Peter home, please and thank you.” Tony requested politely. The doctor looked surprised and put down her pen.

“Mr Stark, you’re aware Mr Parker has some form of amnesia, aren’t you?” The doctor asked. Tony nodded 

“I am aware yes.” He started shifting his weight back and forth to try and calm himself.

“And you’re aware that can be very difficult to deal with, correct?” Tony’s eyes grew hard

“Doc, I am a literal genius,” He said coldly “Please stop treating me like an idiot and get to the point.”

“Well...” The doctor said carefully “You weren’t actually expecting to take him home, were you?”

“Excuse me?” A menacing tone overtook his voice “I have been with this kid for over a month, not leaving. I haven’t been home since he nearly died, my wife has been bringing me clothes and food, and you really think I wasn’t going to take him and home and clothe and feed him?”

“Mr Stark, you have to understand, a case like this is very difficult. Peter has no guardian, no family to speak of. We can’t just hand him off anyone. There’s social workers to inform and home inspections, parental checks. If you truly want to home Peter it can be done, but he’ll have to go into foster care whilst this is happening.” 

“You... you want to put that kid, that _brilliant_ kid into the system??? They’ll crush him! He’ll never survive!” The doctor looked at Tony carefully

“Mr Stark, you must be aware that your reputation precedes you.” This wasn’t a question.

“And which reputation would that be?” Tony was being deliberately obtuse and he knew it. “My reputation for saving the world? Or perhaps my reputation as a philanthropist?”

“Neither, Mr Stark. You know I am referring to your reputation as a womaniser, party animal and barely functioning alcoholic.” The doctor’s voice was hard and cold.

“Clearly you haven’t been keeping up with the news, then. I’ve been sober for six months and I got married last year.” She looked Tony in the eye.

“The truth of the matter is, Mr Stark, that you are going to be hard-pressed to find a social worker who will release Mr Parker into your care.” Tony turned on his heel, fuming, and marched his way back to Peter’s room. On his way he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled. Pepper answered on the first ring.

“Hello, Tony.” She answered pleasantly

“Pepper, I need your help.”

“What’s going on, Tony? You never ask for help.” For the first time in decades, Tony started crying. 

“They won’t let me have him, Pep. They won’t let me take Peter home.” He sobbed

“I’m coming.” Pepper had never heard her husband cry, and it broke her heart to know that he was hurting enough to do so.


End file.
